The Things You Have Under Your Nose
by Animaman
Summary: Sometimes the best things in ones life are where they least expected and never see. Sakura learns that truth after a little chat with Naruto. Mainly a NaruSaku friendship, with a touch of NaruHina romance. No NaruSaku romance, just a friendship fic. Don't complain about not being warned. Two-shot
1. Learning

**The Things You Have Under Your Nose**

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, and considering all the little curveballs that they have been throwing into the main story lately, I wouldn't want to.

This well be a post time skip, but pre-invasion. This well also be mainly a friendship fic, so don't expect any romance in this fic.

It has been two weeks since the annual kyubi festival and Sakura is walking towards her team's usual meeting place. She couldn't help but feel a little worried about her blond teammate because he hasn't been his happy self since before the festival when she asked if he was going to it, only to say it would be safer, mainly for his health, if he didn't. While she understood the main reason why was because of what he is carrying inside his belly, she couldn't help but feel like she forgot about something important.

Another change that has occurred was that Naruto is now dating Hinata and they were getting closer every time they meet, closer than when it was just them, while their relationship felt like it was dwindling bit by bit.

When he left, Sakura promised herself that she would always try harder to become the friend that she should have been to him when they became a team, when Sasuke was still with them. After finding out about the Kyubi, she couldn't help but feel both sad about how Naruto's life has been and guilty for adding on to it when they were younger and she was the over obsessive Sasuke fan girl. After everything that they have gone through, especially the incident where he went into his four-tails form, Sakura felt like her feelings for the blonde are conflicting with the feelings she had in the past for Sasuke.

When she arrived at the location, Sakura was frozen in place after watching Naruto and Hinata giving each other a kiss on the lips. When they separated, Hinata walked off, "I'll see you tonight for our date, Naruto." She said.

"Sure thing, and thanks again for the birthday present." Naruto said. The one thing that changes since that date was that Naruto was given a long white coat with orange flames on the bottom. While it was considered by everyone around their age or younger to be pretty cool considering how much he looked like the Fourth, for some reason it had two different sets of results on most of the adults. For the ninja, it felt like they were about to have a heart attack, Kakashi being the closet, the villagers on the other hand felt like they have been insulted and wanted to rip it off of Naruto's body while beating the tar out of him.

"Wait that was your birthday gift?" Sakura asked, when he nodded, "When was it?"

Naruto gave a small sigh, 'Shikamaru would have figured it from day one.' Ran through his head, thinking about the lazy bum of Team Asuma. "Okay, you know about me and the Kyubi right?" He asked, getting a nod as an answer, "And if the Kyubi was sealed in me when I was born, then that would be around the same time as the . . ." He cut off, making sure to see if Sakura catches on.

Sakura had her eyes squinting and her brow scrunched for a bit until her eyes flew open, "Kyubi Festival." She said in realization, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Naruto gave a small sigh, "Because I was hoping for once you can figure it out on your own." He explained, "Plus while most people have a happy birthday, my birthday is a nightmare since that just makes the villagers want to get rid of me even more."

"But why didn't you tell us earlier when we started out as a team?" Sakura asked, only to realize after the question how stupid it was, considering what the answer is.

"You know why, you never cared if I was breathing or not because you were too busy trying to be the perfect little fan girl who would rather try to get the attention of the top dog while making sure to ignore the one who truly needed it." Naruto said, "I even tried a couple of times, hoping that you would at least treat me like an equal, but you only pushed me away, both figuratively and literally, because Sasuke did it as well."

Sakura wanted to deny it, yet she knew it was the truth. Back then the only world she cared about was the one she and the other fan girls dreamed up, while ignoring the real world. "I know and every time I look back, I wish that it was one big nightmare." She said, while both are leaning over the bridge, "Like you I was picked on, but not to the extreme of what you went through. I wanted to fit in so much with everyone else, especially with the other girls, by developing a crush on Sasuke. Unfortunately it got so out of hand . . ." This time it was her turn to cut off, only this time because she was trying to decide the next set of words.

"The rest of the world has moved on without you." Naruto finished, "At least you woke up earlier than most of the villagers since they wouldn't know the truth even if it was right in front of them."

Sakura couldn't help but laugh at that statement. The y both leaned over the edge to watch the fish swimming around in the stream running below the bridge. "So how long have you and Hinata been going out?" Sakura asked.

"When we came back from our fight with Sasuke." Naruto answered. After counting from three in his head, Sakura gave her usual response when it came to unexpected answers, which was a very loud 'What!' He started rubbing the ear closet to Sakura with his pinky, "Can you be any louder. I'm not deaf yet." His hand quickly shot up to block a punch aimed at his head, "And does that have to be your answer for everything that I do?"

This time Sakura had the decency to blush at this, "I'm sorry, it's just that I'm used to attacking you for . . ." She started to say.

"No good reason at all." Naruto said, intercepting any kind of excuse. "Sakura, when it comes to one of our friends that make you mad, you either just let it go or scare them away when you blow your top. When it comes to me, you usually pound me into next week. Care to explain why that is the case?"

Sakura was about to deny the whole thing until she looked back and realized that besides pounding Rock Lee into the air for making advances towards her, she was really that bad, the worst of the fan girls involving Sasuke and her out-of-control crush on him. "I'm not sure." She started answering, "At first it was just a way to fit in with the other kids, mainly the fan girls, because of how badly I was picked on due to my forehead. Later on, when I felt the need to step out of Ino's shadow and pursue my own goal, I ended it up stuck in a fantasy world I kept reading about in my romance novels that I was too busy hoping for the whole Sasuke becoming my white ninja (white knight is overused already) coming to the rescue and the price for that was sacrificing my own training."

"Well congratulations, you finally learn something on your own." Naruto sarcastically said, showing her just how much respect he has left for her, only this time stepping aside to avoid a punch which obliterated a peace of the railing in the process, "Now you need to learn how to control that temper of yours a little better."

"Plus that damage well be coming out of your pay." Both turned to see their ever late sensei on time for a change, with a wave from one hand, as well as an eye smile, with his ever favorite book in the other, "Anyway, Naruto, I was told by the Hokage that she wanted to see you right away about something."

Naruto nodded and started to walk away. When he was near Kakashi, "By the way, why are you on time for a change?" He asked the question that was on both of their minds.

Kakashi paled a little bit at this, "That's something you don't need to know." He answered, after the memory of how he was 'persuaded' to be on time

"Well if granny threatened to make you a permanent soprano, I can understand why." Naruto said in a low whisper, before leaving.

When it was just two of them, they just gave each other in the eye(s) before somebody broke the silence.

Here is my latest story. It was originally going to be just a one-shot, also a way to warm back up into writing, so sorry. Next one will be the last one (hopefully on the author's part). Read and Review, and have a Happy Holidays.


	2. Realization

The Things You Have Under Your Nose

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or there would be more hints on who is going to end up with whom already, although that's probably going to be during the last few chapters in the entire series.

I know people are disappointed about this being a NaruSaku Friendship fic, with Naruto being in a relationship with Hinata, so I might as well say it, you've been warned more than once. As another warning, this won't end with a romance between the two. I'm also not siding with how the original storyline ends, romance wise, because I'm pretty sure the creator is keeping a tight lip about it, as well as the possibilities that there will be another Naruto series after the current.

Those who want a NaruSaku romance, check out my other fics and those who don't like there being a NaruHina hint in this fic, you know where the back button is.

"Well if granny threatened to make you a permanent soprano, I can understand why." Naruto said in a low whisper, before leaving.

When it was just two of them, they just gave each other in the eye(s) before somebody broke the silence.

"Hey guys," They turned to be greeted by a smiling Hinata, "Where's Naruto."

"The Hokage requested his presence." Kakashi said.

"Oh, I was going to tell him that Tenten and Neji were going to join us, making tonight a double date." Hinata said.

"How was Tenten able to convince Neji to go on a date?" Sakura asked, remembering how much of a stiff the older Hyuga was.

"Oh she threatened to tie him up and have him listen to the entire Flames of Youth speech from both Gai-Sensei and Lee." Hinata said, causing everybody to give a small shiver at the thought.

"A fait far worse than death." Kakashi said, having to deal with Guy's personality for so long.

"Anyway, I'll go head down to the tower and wait for him." Hinata said getting ready to leave.

Sakura decided to ask the question that has been bothering her since Naruto started to confront her about her faults and decisions in life, "Hinata, Naruto told me you started dating after he returned from our failed mission to get Sasuke. Does that mean you two were seeing each other before he left?" She asked, only to get a nod in return, "So why did he keep acting like he was still interested in me?"

"Because my clan's council would brand me and throw me out onto the street and the village would try to get to Naruto by harming me in ways that none of us which to know." Hinata said, with Sakura understanding completely, "Plus I'm sure you remember how he started to hang around you less after he brought back the hokage to heal Sasuke and Kakashi-Sensei."

Sakura nodded her head at this, "Yeah, I thought it weird that Naruto stopped following me like a lost puppy." She said, that was when her eyes went wide, "So you're saying that's when Naruto stop taking an interest in me."

"Well, having somebody not giving you a single thank you for helping your crush recover by bringing the world's top medic with him would give you the final clue that your crush doesn't care about you." Hinata said, sarcastically.

Sakura was going to deny it until she realized that she has never really given Naruto any kind of thank you because she still had it stuck in her head that titles are everything and Naruto's status was that of somebody totally worthless. "Was I really that bad?" She asked, wanting to get a confirmation of what she always wondered.

"No you were worse, like using somebody's crush on you to make a lifelong promise to bring back a boy who never gave a damn about anything but his vengeance." Hinata said, with a voice that was laced with hurt and anger, "And did you know that it was your thirst for attention that gave you the reason to pound and hurt Naruto every chance you got?" She then turned and left, wanting to make sure not to use Sakura as a stress reliever the same way she used Naruto.

Kakashi knew that now would be a good time to jump in before Sakura sunk too deep into her depression. "Do you know what my biggest regret in life is, Sakura?" He asked. When Sakura shook her head, he decided to give Sakura a chance to get to know him to avoid another repeat in history, "My biggest regret is that I never took the chance to enjoy my time with my teammates, get a chance to actually grow with them instead of treating them like they were beneath me."

Meanwhile, at the Hokage's Office, Tsunade was explaining to Naruto about what he needed to do to become a chunin since most of his friends have become one.

"So basically I have to wait for a team to have an empty slot and then take the exams again?" Naruto said, while getting a nod for an answer, "And just how dumb do I look?" He asked, catching her by surprise, "We both know that there are still people who don't want me to get stronger, especially those on the council and they would do anything to keep me from going up in ranks. I mean come on, I made it to the finals of the last exam that I was in, I even defeated Gaara when he was in demon mode and what do I get?" He then shook his head, "Sure I got respect from the ninjas and some of the villagers, but yet after the Third died, some people started to treat me like I was the cause, especially thanks to Sakura telling people that it was Sasuke that defeated Gaara."

Tsunade was shocked at Naruto not believing he has a chance to get promoted, yet she couldn't fault him because she knew he was right. Unlike Iwa and Kumo, who give their demon containers more respect, the only way Naruto could advance to the rank that matches his power was when people would start to look past the kyubi and see the boy who wanted to be treated like a person forced to carry a burden nobody should be given. "I'll see what I can do to help you out." Tsunade said, trying hard to fix some of the mistakes that her sensei couldn't.

"Is there anything else you need from me, granny?" Naruto asked, before dodging a stamp.

"You know I hate it when you call me that." Tsunade said, then giggled a bit when she saw that smile Naruto uses when he knew he helped lighten the mood, "Anyway, I hear that you and the Hyuga princess have been getting pretty close lately."

Naruto blushed a little at this, "Yeah, well what can I say, sometimes it's the ones that you have under your nose that most people end up discovering too late." He said, "In some ways, out of the entire village, she is the only one out of my age group to treat me the way I wanted to be treated, not the way the villagers want to."

Tsunade smiled that her adapted grandson found the love he deserved, yet the teacher in her was a bit disappointed that it wasn't with her student. "So what happened to you and Sakura?" She asked, "Even when you were bringing me back, you sounded like you were hoping that she would give you a hug or some kind of thank you."

"Yeah well, Sasuke got the hug and I got the cold shoulder, like it usually goes." Naruto said, with a small sigh, while Tsunade was shocked because she never heard before, "After seeing how much Sasuke meant to her, I just knew that it could never be, which is why I decided to move on and see if I have a chance towards love, yet Hinata proved that I did."

Tsunade couldn't help but see herself and Jiraiya with those two. Both had a crush on the girl of the team and both were tossed aside because they always found a reason to pound them into next week, like both being the bottom of the class, although in Naruto's case, he never had a choice in that matter. "Well, enjoy your date tonight." She said getting a nod in return. After she felt that she was all alone, "I need to have a girl-to-girl talk with Sakura."

The next day, at team 7's usual spot, Sakura walked up to notice that she was the first one to show up, which she felt would be for the best since she still had some thinking to do. Ever since Hinata told her the reason why she started to do what she did to Naruto was her need for attention, she thought back to when she first pounded Naruto when they were still starting out at the academy. She remembers people congratulating her for hurting the boy, saying that he deserved every pounding, and she kept doing it. That was when she thought that might impress Sasuke, that he would be impressed if she pounded the weakest in the class. She shivered at that reason because people were just using the kids as an excuse to attack Naruto, thinking that he was the kyubi and wanted him to suffer as much as possible.

When they were first formed into a team, when Sakura figured out about what really happened after dealing with two Sasukes. At first she wondered why he would do such a thing, and then it clicked that Naruto was trying to find out what flaws he needed to fix so that he can try to improve his chances. Remembering what she said to him, from finding him annoying to wishing that he would stop getting between her and Sasuke to what Sasuke said when she brought up the parts about Naruto's lack of parents, she felt like punching herself in the face for what she did. She felt sick of herself because she had all the book smarts, and she didn't have the knowledge to treat all of your teammates like family, not play favorites.

After her talk with Tsunade last night, about how they discussed some of the same things that she talked with Hinata and Kakashi about, that was when she realized that karma was biting down hard in the ass for her past actions. All the things Naruto did for her, she just blew him away because he wasn't Sasuke, and she had never thanked him for all the times he saved her life, just went on thinking that he would get over it. She wanted him to leave her alone so she can pursue her own endeavors, and now she is wishing that she could just take it all back.

When she laughing, she turned to see the happy couple of Naruto and Hinata walking side-by-side, doing things that she could have had. Now that she realized too late what she had under her nose, the only thing she can do now is to work her way to become the friend that Naruto can trust with his life, which doesn't blow her top or use her fist over every simple thing. Somebody she would be proud of.

Here is the ending, sorry for it being a bit on the crummy side. Right now I'm trying to get my writing back on schedule. Just to let people know, I did add Hinata in the third character slot, I hope that helps things a bit. Read n' Review.


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